Over the last few years we have been in this business, there have been some amusing questions we have been asked and judgments that have been passed on our profession. So I thought we would put them all together as a myth buster post. We will start with the obvious one.

Myth #1: Consultants are for getting jobs

This is a very IT City assumption that we face. Because of the IT boom, the only consultants that people seem to know are the ones who place people. So, just because we call ourselves as consultants a lot of people call us asking if we can help them find a job. For such souls, I want to clarify that there is consulting beyond just finding jobs.

Myth #2: S/he did not get a job and hence became a consultant

Unfortunately, anyone can write consultant behind the name and hence it has become synonymous with free lancing. Not all free lancing should be termed as consulting. Consulting is serious business and requires specialized skills. The deep understanding comes from the hard work and years spent in acquiring knowledge and solving problems.

Myth #3: Consultants should come cheap

I just cannot understand this logic. If you are hiring a specialist, I am not sure why you would expect that they would come cheap. If your work does not require a specialist, then don’t hire a consultant. If you need a specialist then please be ready to pay for the knowledge and their time.

Myth #4: Consultants will do all the dirty work

Let me be clear. Consultants are not there to clean up behind you. If you created a mess, it is your mess and you are responsible for the clean-up. The consultant can only tell you what the best way for you is to get out of the mess. Another piece of advice is, please hire a consultant before hand as that will be a lot more cost effective.

Myth #5: Consultants are here to fleece our money

If you are starting with this assumption, then success is a distant dream. Trust is an integral part of the relationship. Please do your due diligence before hand and only hire someone you completely trust. Trust them to do what is best for you. Sometimes best may not be the cheapest and only an expert can determine that.

Myth #6: I know everything about my plant. What else can they tell me

What you say is not untrue. But it is likely that you have only seen your plant or may be a couple more. But as consultants, we interact with multiple setups of different shapes and sizes and come with a lot of insight that come from dealing with variety.

Myth #7: I have an in-house team, I really don’t need a consultant

The biggest advantage of hiring a consultant is that they are not your employees. They will tell you things that your employees are wary of telling you. We can also work with your team to help them articulate their thoughts, support them in solving problems.

Myth #8: Consultants are unreliable and I cannot depend on an external person

Consultants are as much a part of the supply chain like your ingredient suppliers, machine suppliers and the like. We offer knowledge. So we are as reliable as any other supplier/service provider that you may have. The key is to choose a reliable supplier for your knowledge needs.

Myth #9: Consultants can take away my IP and sell it someone else

This is the most frivolous of allegations. Like any other profession, there are phoneys who might do that. But consulting is an ethical business where we sign non-disclosures with all our clients. A strict confidentiality is maintained across our clients.

We sincerely hope that you will keep this in mind when you are talking to consultants. Our value comes from sharing industry best practices, keeping ourselves updated on the latest going-ons in the industry. Our biggest deliverable is to shorten your learning curve, removing wastage and drive efficiency.

Author: Ramesh is a technologist, with a passion for using technology to solve operational problems. He believes in designing for usability and is happy to work with anyone who can help him solve these problems. He is also the current CEO at Food Safety Works. You can also check out his earlier article titled “Why the Amazon smart shelf is not smart enough“.